Bella Donna
by SherezadeQ
Summary: The adventures of a psychopharmacologist, his assassin girlfriend, and their interesting friends. Rated M for...implied sex? Not sure exactly where this story is going- it has a mind of its own. Takes place during Begins, AU, some OOC.
1. Chapter 1

Dr. Jonathan Crane sat in his office, staring at the wall. If there had been a window, he would have looked out of it, but as there wasn't one, he simply turned his icy blue gaze on the white wall. He ran a hand through his thick, dark, longish hair and sighed. Suddenly the phone in his office rang loudly. Jonathan jumped as the obnoxious sound shattered the silence. He automatically reached for the sleek black phone, but his hand stopped before he picked it up. After a minute of deliberation, Jonathan sat back and decided to let the answering machine take care of it. He heard a soft click from the next room and heard the caller's voice.

"Jon, pick up the phone; I know you're there," said a smooth female voice that he did not recognize at first. Before Jonathan could realize who the voice belonged to, there was a louder click and the woman hung up. He shrugged off the feeling that the voice was too familiar to remain anonymous. Jonathan leaned back in his desk chair, closing his eyes behind his silver-rimmed glasses. It had been a long day; he'd had to drive to the courthouse _three_ times today. Why, he wondered, did Falcone's thugs insist on getting caught so much?

And then there was that _actually_ psycho girl with the dark hair and milk-white skin, one of his officially hopeless cases. Who would think that a 16-year-old could be so insane? And worse, she was completely obsessed with him. Sometimes he almost thought that she pretended to be crazy just to be in Arkham... Jonathan pushed the thought from his head; that was ridiculous. Absorbed in his train of thought, Jonathan had not noticed a slender shadow slip noiselessly into the room. Suddenly there was a flash, and he felt a cold blade at his throat.

Jonathan's long, thin frame stiffened; he tried to catch a glimpse of his attacker out of his peripheral vision as he reached for the case of hallucinogenic powder at his wrist. However, before he could reach it, slim fingers with long black nails seized his wrist in a vise-like grip. "Don't move," muttered a low female voice behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, Jonathan saw a swish of black hair. He breathed deeply and inhaled a scent that reminded him of long-gone memories. It was a vanilla perfume, and he knew only one person who wore that.

Suddenly the woman behind him laughed, drew her blade from his throat, and swung around to face him. He sighed with relief at the sight of her glossy black curls, mischievous jade-green eyes, and ivory skin. "Raven," Jonathan greeted her, relaxing at last. Raven lowered her slender, willowy form gracefully into the chair across from Jonathan and smiled. "Long time no see, brother dearest."

Raven Crane looked around Jonathan's office critically. It was...well...bare. She smoothed her glitter-dusted black skirt suit and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You never were much for decoration," she commented. Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Well," he replied, "there's not much time for stupid little things like that when all my time is filled with..." he trailed off, hesitating.

"Filled with what?" Raven prodded. "Filled with... appointments," he finished rather lamely.

"It's okay to tell me about your little drug, I already know about it anyway. And I know you're working for Ra's Al Ghul. Don't worry," Raven added quickly, seeing his sudden flash of panic, "I won't turn you in or try to stop you; to the contrary. I'm here to help you." Now it was Jonathan who raised an eyebrow.

"And how do you propose to do that?" he asked skeptically. Raven smiled and reached down to her ankle, from where she produced a dagger. But this was no ordinary dagger. It was made of hollow diamond, and about the size of a ruler. Jonathan shrugged. "So...?" he asked. Raven sighed. "So, you give me some of your liquid drug, I fill my daggers with it, I kill whoever you need dead. While you were getting your PhD, I decided to train to become an assassin."

So _that_ was what she had been doing all those years, Jonathan thought.

"This way," Raven continued, "you won't have to use Falcone to get your poison, nor will you need his thugs to take people out."

Jonathan considered for a moment, and then nodded tentatively. "Sure…why don't we try it and see how it works out?" he agreed. Raven smiled.

"Good…well then," she said. "Is there anyone bothering you now?" Jonathan rose from his chair and walked over to the far wall.

"Actually, yes. Your timing is perfect," he said, turning to face her. "Rachel Dawes, remember her? She's the assistant DA now. I think she knows a little too much about what's going on." Raven quickly comprehended the situation and stood up. "Best be off, if I'm to get this done as soon as possible," she said, and prepared to leave. Jonathan intercepted her at the door, grasped her arm, and looked her in the eyes.

"I hope I can trust you," he threatened softly. "Otherwise, something might just happen to you…something I'm sure you would rather avoid." The smile faded from Raven's face to be replaced by a look of solemnity.

"I see we still must earn each other's trust," she murmured, "but one can never be too cautious. You may trust me with this. After all," she said with a smirk, "it is my job."


	2. Chapter 2

Raven walked down the hall with a businesslike composure that left no room for others to doubt her authenticity. Once she entered the women's restroom, she became another story entirely. She splashed shockingly icy water from the sterile silver tap into her face and looked up at her reflection in the mirror. She searched her face for any physical resemblance to her brother. Raven knew that they weren't _really_ blood relatives, but Jonathan was so like a brother to her. She thought of how strikingly handsome his features seemed to have become, and shivered. She felt like some incestuous freak of nature, realizing that she might have more than sisterly feelings for Jonathan. She nearly threw up right then. _Get a grip, Raven, _she told herself. _You'll be fine._ Raven remembered suddenly that she'd accepted a job from Jonathan. _Rachel Dawes... that annoying little preppy girl that I used to make fun of? Jeez._ Rachel must have done something really irritating now, if even imperturbable Jonathan wanted her taken out. However, Raven would do it without qualms, if only for the satisfaction of old grudges. _Karma my ass,_ thought Raven. Without really meaning to, she began to murmur her own modified version of an annoying cheer that Rachel used to repeat constantly. "2-4-6-8, who must I eliminate? Rachel! Rachel!"

An hour later, Raven Crane was sitting in a local Starbucks with a vanilla chai latte, wishing devoutly that she'd had a family. She'd taken the name Crane because she'd known no other. When she was about 10 years old, Raven had wandered into a family's backyard, not knowing where she came from or what her name was. She'd thought up "Raven" herself because she had always liked them and the mystery they symbolized. The family she'd found consisted of a single working mother and a son just a bit older than Raven. The working mother, Vivian, was actually quite accepting of another child. She thought perhaps finally her misfit son would have someone to socialize with. The boy was a social, mental, and physical outcast. He had no friends, was on an intellectual level far beyond most adults, his frame was long and very thin, and his eyes were a blinding shade of palest blue. Jonathan Crane was certainly "different" from the start.

Raven had grown up with him; treating each other as siblings had been standard. It was during their late teen years that they suddenly seemed to remember their divided heritage and realize that they weren't really related at all. It was at this time that, having gone through her twelfth boyfriend since age 13 (she just couldn't seem to find the right one!), a seventeen-year-old Raven had decided to settle down for a while back at home after graduating Gotham High. It was also at this time that eighteen-year-old Jonathan had come back from his freshman year at Gotham University on break, accompanied by a shy, pretty Indian girl named Chandra. For reasons thus far unknown to him, Raven had hastily packed her things and hurried off to do something in the Arkham district directly after the two of them arrived. Raven hadn't come back until after they'd left.

But now, looking dismally at the dregs of her coffee and poking at it with the bottom of her straw in a morose way, Raven knew exactly why she'd gone temporarily missing. She had been in denial for years, trying to convince herself that really, she would just have been intrusive if she'd stayed. But the fact was, she'd been jealous. Raven had been afraid that she might tear poor, sweet, demure little Chandra to pieces if she caught the girl anywhere near Jonathan. Raven looked up and jumped about a foot out of her chair as she realized that Jonathan had slipped on to the stool across from her, and had in fact been sitting there for around five minutes. _Speak of the Devil, Jonathan,_ thought Raven, _next thing I know, you'll be reading my mind._ Raven shivered to think what he might learn if he could. Jonathan chuckled as Raven blushed and tried to calm her heart, which to her seemed to be trying to escape from her chest by any means possible. Finally getting her heartbeat under control, Raven smiled. "Shall we?" she asked smoothly, rising from her chair fluidly and tossing her empty Styrofoam cup into the trash can. Jonathan nodded and they walked out of Starbucks and into the night.

The fountain outside was lit up from the inside by many multicolored lights, glowing and bubbling in the semidarkness. Raven always found it so fascinating. There was something comforting, she thought, about Jonathan's solid presence, his _materiality_, his down-to-earth stance and attitude in the night. She was still wearing the thin skirt-suit of earlier that day, which was not nearly enough in the cold. Raven suddenly saw justification in the tacky "sweater-under-the-suit-jacket" thing that Jonathan always did. As much as she tried to keep it under control, Raven was shivering. Jonathan took one look at her and wordlessly offered her his jacket. Raven smiled gratefully and slung the jacket around her shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he actually looked much better without the sharp angles of the suit.

The two of them wandered over to a wooden bench and sat down. Raven shivered again, but this time it was because of Jonathan's closeness rather than the cold. He felt her shiver and put his arm around her shoulders. Raven usually would have been admiring the stillness and glamour of the night, but tonight all she could think about was Jonathan. Heat flamed her cheeks momentarily at the thought of what she wanted to happen. Suddenly she realized that she had to do something. This was the perfect opportunity, and probably the only chance she'd have. Slowly, Raven relaxed every muscle in her body, until she was no longer tense. She turned to Jonathan and found him already looking at her. His icy blue eyes swallowed all her doubts, and Raven smiled. Without a word, she reached up and slipped off his glasses, folding them and putting them in her pocket.

"Jonathan," she began, "I think there's something I need to tell you..." Before she could continue, Jonathan smiled and interrupted her.

"Not siblings anymore, are we?" he asked softly, looking deep into her eyes. Half entranced by his gaze, Raven shook her head slowly. "No," she whispered, "I think...that our...relationship...is a bit different these days." Jonathan chuckled.

"I thought we might come to this point. But I have the explanation that, as much as we might have acted like it, we were never really related. So it's perfectly okay to..." he trailed off, fully aware of what he'd just implied. Raven could bear it no longer. She trailed her fingers along his arm and paused at his shoulder...and suddenly, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. Raven felt as though the whole world contracted and spun around her. After a few long minutes that seemed like forever, and yet also seemed to take up no time at all, she slowly drew her lips away from the tantalizing and intoxicating poison that was his kiss.

Raven lifted her head, leaned back, and looked into his eyes. They burned with dazzling blue flames of passion that nearly blinded her. She closed her eyes again and let him kiss her one more time.

"Enough," Raven whispered softly as she drew away for the second time, still tasting the sweet kiss of moments before. "Not here...not now..." The fire receded from Jonathan's eyes, and he smiled gently.

"Of course," he said quietly, "I'm sorry." Raven looked at him incredulously.

"Don't be ridiculous, that was—" (the right word finally came to her) "—amazing." Jonathan took her hand and they stood up, a bit awkward at first, but soon getting used to it.

"Come on," Jonathan said, "You can stay with me tonight." Raven opened her mouth to protest, afraid of what might happen, but one glance into his eyes, and she was won over. They climbed into his car and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3

Raven's eyes flew open and she had a miniature panic attack before she remembered where she was. Sighing softly with relief, Raven glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand – Jonathan's nightstand. Someday would it be hers as well? Well, in any case, it was hers for now. It was 4:38 a.m., and Jonathan was still asleep next to her. Raven turned over gingerly and thanked god that he didn't snore. She could not help smiling as she gazed at Jonathan's face, never so peaceful in waking as it seemed to be in sleep.

Slowly Raven rose from the bed, careful not to disturb Jonathan's rest (god knew he needed it) and walked silently to a window that peered out over one of the last clean rivers and unpolluted forests in Gotham. It was just barely light enough to see outside.

Raven stood still for a few minutes, lost in thought. Suddenly she felt lean, muscular arms encircle her waist, and sensed the comforting warmth of Jonathan's body behind hers. She leaned back into his chest and sighed, her mind still wandering the mists of time. They hadn't actually _done_ anything last night, which explained clothing still being on them. However, that was mostly, if not entirely, due to the fact that both of them had had long, rough days at work, and they were both exhausted.

Jonathan made breakfast for them both; he was a surprisingly good cook. Since it was Saturday, they decided to just relax for a while, maybe walk around the few unpolluted parks of Gotham and catch up on what was happening to both of their lives.

As they were walking through Mason Park, Raven suddenly stopped and listened. She cocked her head to the left and turned slowly around. A smile played at the corners of her mouth as she ducked swiftly to avoid a red pillow which flew out of the trees to Raven's left and sailed over her head. Jonathan stared, completely bewildered at the ridiculous randomness. Raven chuckled.

"Rose!" she called. "You didn't hit me!" To Jonathan's total shock, a voice replied from the trees. "Darn it Raven, you always move!" In the next second, a tall young woman catapulted out of the thicket and embraced Raven. Rose was tall and slender, with fair skin, golden-brown eyes and short, light-brown hair with red and black weaved streaks. She wore ripped jeans and a black lace t-shirt. She turned to face Jonathan, and looked at him critically for a moment before offering her hand. Rose giggled and whispered something to Raven that made her start cracking up.

"Oh right!" Rose said suddenly, as if remembering something. "Alyx!" Suddenly a tall, broad but graceful man strolled leisurely out of the trees. He had long black hair that hung over one of his deep brown eyes, and olive skin. Alyx was dressed in black leather and a Japanese katana hung loosely at his side. "Alyx, it's been forever!" Raven said with a slightly hysterical edge to her voice as they embraced. Alyx smiled at her.

"We're in similar trades; you'd think we'd have met more often in the recent past," he said warmly. "Yeah, I know," Raven replied, "but I guess..."

Suddenly she turned to Jonathan, who looked as if an alien ship had just landed in front of him. Which, if you looked at things a certain way, it had. Rose had to stifle a laugh when she saw his expression.

"Jonathan," Raven began, fighting to keep laughter out of her voice, "this is Alyx, and this is Rose. They have been my friends through many years, the good times and the bad. Maybe you remember them." She paused. "Rose, Alyx, this is Jonathan. And we...have an interesting relationship." Panic flared briefly in Rose's eyes, and Alyx raised an eyebrow.

"You might remember him as my brother," Raven whispered in Rose's ear, "but I was adopted late, remember?" Rose nodded, understanding.

"Raven," said Rose carefully, "We're here with Angelae, and you know how she gets when we leave her." Raven looked slightly confused.

"If you came...with Angelae...then why isn't she here?" Alyx rolled his eyes at her.

"Why do you _think_ she isn't here? We didn't really think you'd want to see her, after...well, after what happened." Jonathan had looked thoughtful, trying to process everything that was going on. "Angelae..." he repeated slowly, "Yeah, you guys did have a falling out. You know, I think I'm starting to remember you two. Rose, you were the one who kept saying something about the curtains attacking you, I think...and Alyx, you used to go to raves, right?" Raven, Rose, and Alyx stared at Jonathan. Raven turned to Rose.

"The curtains like to attack people," they chorused, "and me—mostly me." They burst out laughing.

"But really," Alyx said seriously," We have to get back to Angelae before she comes out of the bathroom, or she'll completely freak out." Raven nodded.

"One more question," Raven said, "before you leave. How did you find us?" Rose and Alyx looked at each other, and Alyx tapped his head and winked. Raven grinned, and suddenly wind whipped briefly through the clearing, leaving as soon as it had come.

Rose nodded. "Alright," Raven allowed, "Get on back to Angelae, and let's meet again sometime." Suddenly, Alyx and Rose were gone. It was as if they had disappeared into thin air. Raven turned to Jonathan, and had to laugh at the politely puzzled expression on his face. "You...have interesting friends," he said simply. "I know," replied Raven happily.


	4. Chapter 4

As she walked along, memories recovered by her surprise meeting flurried around Raven's mind like glitter in a snow globe. Mason Park eventually turned into the park of Gotham University, and she and Jonathan shared their experiences since they had last been together, losing track of time altogether. She passed a young professor sitting under a tree, and listened briefly to his mutterings.

"Hang on," Raven said to Jonathan, interrupting her own sentence. The young teacher kept right on mumbling to himself.

"165...37 cubed...the square root of X plus 11 times B...quadratic...5558..." he whispered, concentrating on some paper or other. _Please let this not be somebody else_, Raven thought. "Excuse me," she said, walking over the young man and tilting her head, "are you Kieran Miller?" He looked at her quizzically with intelligent sky blue eyes.

"Perhaps," he replied, "But the question is, who are you?"

Raven looked at Jonathan, who smiled. "Kieran," he said, "it's us. Jonathan and Raven Crane."

Kieran stared at them. "Jonathan? Raven? It sure has been a while. I thought I had mathematically proven that I'd never see you again." Raven rolled her eyes.

"You and your math," she said. Raven had never liked math in her lifetime. Just then another man walked up to them.

"Good afternoon, Kieran. There's a staff meeting for our department tomorrow at around four." He looked questioningly at Raven and Jonathan.

"Oh," explained Kieran, "these are some of my old friends. Raven, Jonathan, this is Dante. He's a professor of neurology here." They all shook hands.

"Well, I've got to go, Kieran. Pleased to meet you two," said Dante, hurrying off to make a test for his class. After he left, Jonathan turned to Kieran. "If you want to come with us, we were planning to go to Gourmet Del Arte, that restaurant across from Mason Park, tonight." Kieran looked pleased. "I'd love to come," he responded happily.

That night, the three of them walked into Gourmet Del Arte and were promptly greeted by a beautiful young waitress in an adorably short black dress.

"Hello and welcome to Gourmet Del Arte, where we make your food a work of art," she said smilingly. Raven giggled and Kieran raised his eyebrows at the waitress. "My name is Kitty and I'll be your server tonight, but don't take me too seriously," the girl continued. "I'm not really this ridiculously perky. I'll tone it down a bit, shall I?" Jonathan looked slightly relieved. Kitty smiled and turned to lead them to a table. She gave the three of them menus and waved at another tall, pretty girl who showed up out of nowhere.

"This is Holly," said Kitty, reaching for the other girl's hand. Jonathan opened his mouth to ask why that mattered, but just then Holly leaned in and kissed Kitty on the mouth. "Oh," muttered Kieran, realizing what was going on.

"How sweet!" exclaimed Raven. "Are you two together?" Kitty blushed and Holly nodded. "So...call me if you need anything!" said Kitty, taking Holly's hand and hurrying off. "Well," said Jonathan, "that was interesting."

"It certainly was," replied Raven, "because I don't think anyone else noticed the knife strapped to her thigh. She really shouldn't wear such short dresses if she wants to keep that hidden." Jonathan looked keenly at the girl.

"She doesn't seem the type to carry a knife..." he commented. "Well," said Raven, raising an eyebrow, "you can't really tell these days, can you?"

After dinner, the three of them took a walk down a winding pathway behind the restaurant. Kieran bade them goodnight and hailed a taxi for the ride home. Walking in silence, Raven and Jonathan barely noticed when someone passed them—until said person turned and stopped them. "Excuse me," the man said to Jonathan, "but are you Dr. Crane?" Raven felt uneasy. The man stared at them with dark piercing eyes peeking out from under a mass of wavy black hair. Jonathan sighed.

"Yes, that would be me," he said. The man nodded once, jerkily.

"My name is Axel Lane, and I'm a Special Forces detective. I'd like you two to come with me. I know who you are and what you are hiding." Raven panicked. _What are we supposed to do?!_ God, they couldn't even go out to dinner without being picked out_._ There was a rustle in the bushes behind Axel, and Raven saw a glint in the trees. In that glint she saw salvation.

"Hey," she said, throwing a handful of dirt in Axel's eyes. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed. Suddenly, Kitty, the waitress from the restaurant, jumped out of the bushes and stabbed the detective in the back.

"Ah," remarked Lane painfully, "anyone have a band-aid?" And with that last remark, he fell onto the grass and lay still. Kitty knelt, wiped the dagger on Axel's shirt, and stood up again. "Sorry," she said apologetically, "I had a personal problem with that guy. He arrested my sister six times. I figured it was about time that he died." Jonathan stared. "Thank you."


End file.
